The infamous 18th-century highwayman Dick Turpin is said to haunt The Bell Inn at Stilton, a place he reportedly used as a hideout. His spirit is known to make personal appearances, most commonly standing at the foot of guests’ beds in the middle of the night, silently watching. Witnesses describe a stout, dark-clad man wearing a tri-cornered hat and a long riding coat – typical attire for a highwayman of the 1730s. His apparition is usually solid enough to be mistaken for a living person at first glance, until it vanishes or walks through a wall. Turpin’s presence is also associated with phantom hoofbeats and the jingle of a horse’s bridle heard in the courtyard after dark, as if he’s arriving on horseback. Doors have been noted to open on their own in the rooms he’s connected with, and sometimes a rough voice or laugh is faintly heard in an empty room, attributed to Turpin’s brash character. Despite his fearsome reputation, Turpin’s ghost at The Bell seems more of a watchful presence than an aggressive one.